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Born in 1918 in Sebastopol, Crimea, Abba Kovner's childhood was typical of Jewish youth. He spent his early years in Vilna, a renowned center for Jewish education since the 17th century, where he was introduced to a diverse range of Jewish ideology and the teachings of both traditional and modern schools of thought.

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SS & Nazi administration of occupied Vilna

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On June 24, 1941, two days after Germany launched its surprise attack against the Soviet Union "Operation Barbarossa", the Germans occupied Vilna. Several thousand Jews fled eastward with the Soviet army, but the rapid German advance traps the majority of the Jews in Vilna. and almost 60,000 Jews remain in the city at the time of the German occupation.

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The bodies of murdered Jews at the pits of Ponary

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In December 1941, some Jews in the Ghetto formed activist groups to resist the Germans. Abba Kovner urged the Ghetto inhabitants to rise and fight from within the ghetto. A secret meeting was held on Dec 31st to discuss the call to arms.

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"Jewish youth! Do not trust those who are trying to deceive you. Hitler plans to destroy all the Jews of Europe…We will not be led like sheep to the slaughter! True, we are weak and defenseless, but the only reply to the murderer is revolt! Brothers! Better to fall as free fighters than to live by the mercy of the murderers. Arise! Arise with your last breath!"

On December 31, 1941, Abba Kovner rallied the divided factions of the Vilna ghetto resistance to unite and fight back against their would-be murderers. Three weeks later, the United Partisan Organization (FPO) was born.

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The FPO repeatedly appealed to the Jews of Vilna to join the partisans in an uprising. However, they realized that the Jews of Vilna would not rise up until the ghetto was finally destroyed. Therefore, Kovner sent about 300 partisans into the forest and those who chose to stay, including Kovner himself, took up positions in abandoned buildings. They briefly fought the Germans but ultimately managed to escape the destruction.

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Kovner led the remaining partisans to the Rudnicki Forest, where the "Avengers" gained a distinguished reputation by destroying over 180 miles of train tracks, 5 bridges, and 40 enemy train cars. They also killed 212 enemy soldiers and rescued at least 71 Jews. Kovner firmly believed that Jews could earn self-respect through fighting and that they must fight as Jews. He was determined not to join Lithuanian or Russian partisan groups.

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Along with 50 other partisans, Kovner formed a new organization to poison thousands of Nazi and SS prisoners in a Nuremberg POW camp. Despite conflicting accounts, it is believed that the mission resulted in significant injury and death to many German soldiers. Kovner and his fellow Vilna partisan, Vitka Kempner, then made their way to mandate Palestine, where they were smuggled in and started their new life together.

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In 1961, Kovner testified at the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. Kovner won the Israel Prize in literature for his poetry in 1970 and continued to inspire people with his writing until he died in 1987.